Online Gambling Baron named Bitcoin Special Envoy

On August 8th, the sovereign nation of Antigua and Barbuda issued a press release announcing that Calvin Ayre would be representing the country as an Economic Envoy, specializing in how the country can adapt to the emerging Bitcoin and blockchain payments market.

In the press release, the country’s Director-General of Communications was quoted as saying “Mr. Ayre will advise the Government on the effective implementation of new technological developments in cryptocurrency and Bitcoin which have been adopted by leading companies in the United States, Australia, Denmark, the Netherlands, Sweden, Canada, China, and the United Kingdom.”

This seems like a match made in heaven for both parties. Ayre, the former owner of the Bodog brand of casinos, had been living in Antigua for several years since an indictment was placed against him in the United States. During that time, he assisted the government of Antigua and Barbuda in drafting their cryptocurrency laws.

Over the last few years, Mr. Ayre’s attention moved away from online gambling to create a payment processing company based on cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. An early adopter of the currency for gaming sites, Ayre has found himself a knowledge leader in the industry. When other experts were calling for the bottom to drop out of Bitcoin when it reached a valuation of $1,000, it was Ayre who predicted that the currency would not be long before hitting the $3,000 plateau. As of today, a Bitcoin will cost you approximately $3,300.

As for the timing of this announcement, it isn’t all that surprising. The case against Ayre in the United States was dropped after years of sitting on the books; the founder of Bodog forfeited the cash seized in shutting down his site in 2011 and is now a free man once again. With that nuisance taken care of, Antigua and Barbuda could finally have him officially be part of the Economic team; he had been advising as a private citizen in the past.

Antigua was once a hotbed for online gaming operators; their small tax on gaming revenue and their lack of an extradition treaty with the U.S. made the islands a great location for companies looking to accept players from the States. With the changing regulatory and legal climate in the U.S. over the last decade, the amount of jobs and taxes lost was significant. The islands were hit hard, and are continuing to search for ways to generate high-paying jobs for their citizens; being a leader in blockchain would be a step in the right direction for sure.

The online gaming industry, which has always struggled to find efficient, inexpensive ways to process billions of dollars annually, was one of the first industries to jump on board with Bitcoin. In fact, there are several sites available today that only use Bitcoin as a payment method. Having companies assist customers in the creation of a Bitcoin wallet and purchasing the coins will speed up the learning curve and without question will help grow the industry.